Western Release Please?: Gundam Breaker

     welcome to a new series I like to call "Games I want to see get a western release" or alternatively "Western release please?!" for the TL;DR crowd. The premise is rather simple, since I have started importing games from Japan, there has been a decent number that as I play them I think how nice it would be to see it localized in English so not only can I enjoy the game, but it could hopefully reach a broader audience of gamers that may have heard of it, or to also flesh out the releases in a series that didn't make it overseas. 

     The first game series is something that contains two things close to my nerd-heart, and that is Gundam Anime (the new one Iron Blooded Orphans seems to be back to its badass roots) and Gunpla (GUNdam PLAstic models = GUNPLA) and combines it into another nerd-love, video games! The game series is titled Gundam Breaker, and it has released 2 games so far on the PS3 in Japan (with a third one to be released soon on the third of March on the PS4) and while simplistic the gameplay has an addictive quality, that players of MMOs and games like Destiny have a close relationship with, gear lust. Now granted, this game is not exactly traditional when it comes to this tied and true gaming trope.  Rather than getting new gear such as armor,and weapons for your player character, you pickup and unlock new Gundam models and pieces. They come in two different types High Grade (HG 1/140th scale) or Master Grade (MG 1/100th scale). and they include classic models as well as the models from the newest anime at that time (June 27th, 2013 for Gundam Breaker, and December, 18th, 2014 for Gundam Breaker 2).

     The game is in a third person perspective,and controls are on the more arcadey side rather than the more lumbering slower pace of some other Gundam games. This works in its favor as it leads to some fast paced hectic combat, especially in later levels. Thankfully they went with a lock-on combat system that leads to focusing one enemy that much easier, the target can be switched with the D pad and turned off by pushing in the left stick (L3). The only problem I have on a technical level, is sometimes the camera can be a tad uncooperative, though thankfully it is a free cam so that can be easily moved when need be. The first games' story while not bad, is not the true reason why you play this game. They vastly improved the story and the way it is told in the second game, but most people will most likely consider it derivative, I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I realize it is not for everyone. The story was not the only thing to get an overhaul in between the first and second game, so was the customization, and number of mobile suits in the game. Being that the main draw to this game is the kit-bashing (taking multiple models and using pieces from each to create a unique and oftentimes awesome looking Gundam) that is a major boon to the second game, not only that but the customization options were increased as well (including different shades of paint, battle damage, and weathering effects to increase your Gunplas' individuality to ridiculous levels). Of course with these types of games where loot is imperative, the drop rate, and difficulty of levels is a concern for players, and while difficulty curve and drop rate is definitely a concern in both games, the second game thankfully dropped both considerably. With this being online, you can make farming parties to mitigate some of the issues inherent in such a system, though I am not sure how much of a player-base still plays the first game, the second is still decently populated (at least last I checked back in December). 

     I will admit, that even for a Japanese game, this is probably considered one of the more "niche" titles, but with the release of the third game releasing soon, on the PS4, I feel now is a good time to bring this series overseas, and we need more Gundam games released anyway. If you have played this game, please share your opinions below, I am interested to hear what people think. And if you plan on buying Gundam Breaker 3, hope to see you online!

   Koyuuki

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